Bills Beat Blog

By Joe Buscaglia

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Report: Bills' new owner "has to be prepared to stay there"

by Joe Buscaglia,posted May 20 2014 2:59PM

The NFL Spring League Meetings have brought on a busy news day in terms of the Buffalo Bills and their inevitable sale to a new owner. Team President and CEO Russ Brandon spoke with a handful of reporters about the next step of the sale process, but a couple of other items of information have been released as well.

The looming concern for fans of the team is the longterm viability of the franchise in Buffalo, and whether or not a move is inevitable. Well, for those interested that may be fearing the worst, this was offered by one of the top NFL reporters the industry has to offer:

What I was told by someone with very good knowledge of the Buffalo Bills sale situation: "Whoever buys it has to be prepared to stay there."

Battista, who writes for NFL.com, didn't specify what that means in terms of the team past the current lease as it's currently constructed. But the source-driven report is a definitive step in favor of the Bills for the future, despite not knowing who the new owner will be.

That tweet, coupled with another from Tim Graham of The Buffalo News, provide an excellent start to the Tuesday of Bills fans everywhere.

I'm told a Toronto-based group interested in buying the Bills is reconsidering because moving might be too difficult.

To play devil's advocate, "reconsidering" doesn't necessarily mean they're pulling out of the process entirely. And it certainly doesn't mean that they're the only Toronto-based group. However, the fact that the growing sentiment around the league is that many believe the Bills will stay in Buffalo is a positive step towards securing the team for the long haul.

At the very least, the Bills are in Buffalo for the next six seasons. After that, no one really knows the specifics of how everything will play out, but the signs are encouraging for those that want the team to stay put.